Things get more serious this week on Ash vs Evil Deadas the aftershocks of Ash’s therapy have to be dealt with. Thankfully this doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the last of the puppet that was such a hit last week. This time, we see Kelly have to lend a hand in ending the naughty little puppet’s influence.

Having seemingly given into Baal’s (Joel Tobeck) attempts to get control of him Ash (Bruce Campbell) is in full Ashy Slashy mode. Unluckily for Ruby (Lucy Lawless), Pablo (Ray Santiago), and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) they arrive at the asylum just in time to face him.

I was actually surprised that the episode would take place in the asylum, but it actually makes for a good environment for the chaos that takes place. For the most part, Ash is like a malevolent Jason Voorhees stalking his pray with his chainsaw ready for some slaying.

With this style of action taking place, this is something that fits the timescale of the episode well. I’ve been critical with many of the episodes that tend to struggle with a short episode length, but this one is back to what is important, and that is the gore and the action.

One thing that I loved is that Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) was pushed to the front of the action yet again. While the character has always had a certain badass nature to her, this episode sees her truly shine. Not only doing battle with a Deadite, she also has to take care of the Ash hand puppet which takes a liking to her. It is obvious now that Kelly is going to be a character that is no-nonsense, and in many ways, the female Ash which his nice to see.

With season two of Ash vs Evil Deadfast coming to an end, this episode appears to close a lot of the storylines down, and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. There is a surprising twist that comes at the end of the episode which will take many of the audience by surprise. I’m hopeful though that the events can be undoable, because…reasons. It’s hard to go into detail without spoiling what actually happens.

Ash vs Evil Dead works best when it is full of action, and has plenty of gore. With this episode, you really can’t complain in that respect. Even before the title screen is shown a certain death is done in a way that is very easy to celebrate, especially when it comes down to the character that receives the fitting end. It really is surprising just how much is actually done in this episode, it does hint that the next big enemy, which will be set up for season 3, could be coming in the next few episodes.

Next week will probably be a slower episode, dealing with the major twist that comes at the end of this episode. One thing I’m sure of though is that many horror fans would be interested in Ash’s darker side coming out once again so we can see more of “Ashy Slashy”. Bruce Campbell plays the part of a monster like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers well, with an old-school style. This is something that would be fun to see again.

***** 5/5

Ash vs Evil Dead is available in the UK through Virgin Media’s Video on Demand service.